In Short

A roundup of today's other news stories in brief

Factory gate prices fall 3.1% year on year

Factory gate prices were 3.1 per cent lower in November than in the same month of 2007, the latest figures show.

The Central Statistics Office said yesterday that the annual change was driven by drops in prices for office machinery and computers, medical instruments, watches and clocks and basic chemicals.

A notable price increase over the year came in the dairy sector, where prices rose by 17.4 per cent.

O'Reilly buys 1m shares in IN&M

Sir Anthony O'Reilly has again been in the market for shares in Independent News & Media, buying one million shares yesterday at €2.3255.

The purchase brings Sir Anthony's holding in the company to 26.5 per cent. He has built on his stake in the media firm four times within the past week.

Shares in Independent closed at €2.23 last night, down three cent.

Greenstar moves into north Dublin

Waste management company Greenstar has expanded its household waste and recycling service into north Co Dublin with an investment worth €7.5 million over five years.

Greenstar will offer customers an annual fixed charge of €55 from January, putting it in competition with Fingal County Council which last week approved the introduction of a fixed charge of €110.

Digicel moves into Virgin Islands

Denis O'Brien's Caribbean mobile business, has been granted a licence to operate a GSM licence in the British Virgin Islands. The market will be Digicel's 24th and the firm plans to spend an initial $15 million on developing it.

Eircom increases market share

New ComReg data shows that Eircom gained market share in the three months to the end of September last. Eircom's market share grew by one percentage point to 69 per cent.

The data also show there were more than 4.9 million mobile phone subscriptions in the Republic at the end of the third quarter.

Autonomy call for Cork and Shannon Chambers Ireland's Air Transport Users' Council urged the Government yesterday to give Shannon and Cork airports their independence from Dublin, as promised in 2004.

Speaking after the launch of a review of passenger traffic through Irish airports in 2007, council chairman Dan Loughrey indicated he was not confident that the Government would deliver on this promise in 2008.

Providence drills well in Nigeria

Providence has drilled an appraisal well at its AJE Field in offshore Nigeria. The firm said the well was important because it would allow for assessment of the ultimate reserve potential of the whole field.

€1.36bn for training schemes

The Government has outlined plans to invest €1.36 billion in training, education and equality programmes between now and 2013.

Minister for Innovation Policy Michael Ahern yesterday launched the Republic's next European Social Fund (ESF) programme, which is designed to pay for upskilling workers and raising their standard of living. The ESF will provide €375 million for the programme, with €982 million from the Government and a further €3 million provided by the private sector. Specific initiatives to be funded include literacy courses.

Merrion listed on IEX market

Merrion Pharmaceuticals was listed on Dublin's IEX market yesterday, raising €5.6 million through the placing of 1,975,309 new shares at €4.05 per share.